HomeMauro Icardi's frustration culminated in stripping of his captaincy

Mauro Icardi’s frustration culminated in stripping of his captaincy

February 15, 2019

Only months ago, Mauro Icardi seemed to be on his way of becoming a symbol of this Inter Milan generation, but the Argentinean’s career at the Nerazzurri is now heading towards the opposite direction

Ahead of Inter’s trip to Vienna for the Europa League clash with Rapid, Icardi had to hand the captain’s armband over to Samir Handanovic, which eventually resulted in Argentinean skipping Thursday’s showdown.

The Milanese giants are not having the best of times, especially when it comes to their outputs in the final third.

Luciano Spalletti’s men have scored one goal or less in 12 of their last 13 games across all competitions, which has started to annoy the fans.

Not only fans, but Icardi is also frustrated by the lack of service that currently sees his goalscoring tally standing at nine goals after 23 Serie A fixtures.

The former Sampdoria man has been drawing a blank in seven successive Serie A appearances, which seems to have had a negative impact on the Rosario native.

According to Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio, a decision to entrust Handanovic with the captaincy was made ‘for the good of the club.’

Regardless of their decision to deprive their main star of the captain’s armband, the Nerazzurri’s bigwigs still hope to keep hold of the player.

“A decision was made that everyone agreed with, and it was a painful one to make,” he told Sky Sport. “The reasons are serious and valid; there’s nothing to explain.

“Mauro remains important to us. He still has a lot to give to Inter. We are not questioning him as a professional or as a striker, which is why I hope he stays with us for a long time yet. ‘Us’ is the key word here and must always prevail for the good of the club and the changing room.

“We have taken measures – and it’s the last thing we would have wanted to do – after letting something slide in the past. It might seem like a step backward, but in terms of the future, it’s 10 steps forward.

“We’ll speak with Icardi, although it’s not right to speak of talks to clear the air because he’s never been put in discussion and he’s a great player. If he likes, we’ll set conditions to follow.

“Contract discussions have in no way been affected by these events – it’s a totally different subject.”

Although many would’ve expected Icardi to explain the whole thing publicly, the ex-Barcelona’s youth academy product remains silent for the time being.

Reluctant to disclose true nature of his current situation at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, the 25-year-old striker has posted a picture on his Instagram profile, quoting the renowned American writer Mark Twain.